Singapore Police Gets Fintech Aid to Smash Fraud Syndicates

YouTrip is a multi-currency mobile wallet that allows users to use a contactless Mastercard prepaid card, issued by EZ-Link in collaboration with You Technologies Group, to pay with no fees in over 150 currencies worldwide.

The joint effort with the police, held between late December to January, said four individuals were charged with syndicated credit card fraud and 15 individuals investigated for related offenses.

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"Fraud prevention and security will continue to be YouTrip's core mission to our users. We will continue to work closely with the authorities and community to ensure a secure and seamless payment experience for all YouTrip users," said Kelvin Lam, Country Manager (Singapore), You Technologies Group.

YouTrip's Fraud Monitoring System flagged over 85 fraudulent credit card transactions during this period. It used data analytics to investigate and trace transaction patterns for suspicious fraudulent behavior, such as substantial top-ups followed by immediate purchases or high cash withdrawals and high frequency of failed top-ups using incorrect credit/debit card credentials.

A special task force made up of fraud monitoring specialists and engineers used data analytics on these patterns to correlate with fraudulent behavior. These include concentration on common merchant names (e.g. overseas ATM locations), common transaction locations, chargebacks and reports from members of the general public.

YouTrip noted that it handed over conclusive findings to the police to expedite investigations.